?On Sunday, Greek voters delivered a resounding message of discontent to the political leadership which has dominated the government for the past 40 years. The socialist PASOK and the conservative New Democracy have traded the number 1 and number 2 positions for years, That changed with the two receiving unprecedented low percentages, while minor parties surged forward.
The New Democracy party garner 19 percent of the vote and PASOK received a mere 13.5 percent. Conversely, Syriza, on the far left, bounded into second place with a surprising 17 percent. The next government will by necessity be a coalition. New Democracy, led by Antonis Samaras, has 3 days to form one, but negotiations between he and Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras have failed. Tsipras has three days as well. Failure by Tsipras would see the burden passed to PASOK. A third failure would trigger new elections. Greece watchers fully expect new elections.
The vote is seen as a protest against measures meant to deal with the crisis. Greece has seen the loss of thousands of businesses and escalating unemployment as it struggles to avoid default and withdrawal from the Euro. Fearing a Greek default would have a domino effect on other struggling economies within the Eurozone, nations such as Germany and France put together a series of bailouts and loan guarantees. In return however, they have demanded austerity measures such as cuts in salaries and pensions along with tax hikes.
PASOK, in power when the crisis began and a major partner in the recent governing coalition, is strongly identified with the austerity measures. PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos, who spent 6 months as finance minister within the latest coalition, acknowledged as much.
The elections threaten the bailout agreement itself. Samaras has publicly stated his view that the agreement should be renegotiated and Tsipras has called for its outright rejection. Financial markets throughout the world are focused on Greece and the ongoing crisis.
